Crack

[MrBedrock]

That looks like a collection I visited back in the 90s.

Hey! I remember you.

[The-Collector]

I'm inspired!

I've toyed with the idea of cracking out the handful of FF slabs I have, but I chicken out.

 

I'm doin' it!

Have fun!

 

I didn't start this post to try to convince anyone that raw is better than slabbed, or vice versa. I think you should collect in whatever way makes you the happiest. I have a bunch of books that I can't bring myself to crack out yet, either because I may consider selling them or I feel that the holder has an extreme effect on the value. But if you are considering cracking and are comfortable doing it then by all means free those funnybooks. There is definitely an extra joy in holding them and flipping through the pages.

 

 

AMAZING STUFF!!

 

Is there any issue with those pedigree books maintaining their designation? I assume Richard's word would be more than good enough for CGC on re-submission with the old label. But can us lesser mortals do the same thing?

[mrmitchgro]

Did your collection of Gaines copies get cracked out too?

[PUNYHUMAN]

 

 

Breathtaking!!!

[comicdonna]

That's a lot of labels to mail to FL ... Will you?

I keep the labels with the books. The grades haven't changed, other than the Airfighters, which I did return.

 

The chance of them getting the sane grade is

I agree. Probably some will grade higher.

[BB-Gun]

The only copy that I have cracked is the Batman on the right, i.e., 43 above 44. I think I wanted to add a centerfold to the incomplete copy.

[MrBedrock]

Did your collection of Gaines copies get cracked out too?

I haven't cracked out any of those. I think my reasoning is along the lines of reading copies being so easy to come by.

[Robot Man]

Awsome photo Richard! Good for you. That is a big and expensive step. But if they are staying with you, this way you can actually enjoy them for what they are. Nothing like holding a raw Church book in your hands huh? The gloss, the smell and the feel is something you just don't get with a slab...

[Sqeggs]

Awsome photo Richard! Good for you. That is a big and expensive step. But if they are staying with you, this way you can actually enjoy them for what they are. Nothing like holding a raw Church book in your hands huh? The gloss, the smell and the feel is something you just don't get with a slab...

 

All my slabs are glossy!

[Mmehdy]

Awsome photo Richard! Good for you. That is a big and expensive step. But if they are staying with you, this way you can actually enjoy them for what they are. Nothing like holding a raw Church book in your hands huh? The gloss, the smell and the feel is something you just don't get with a slab...

 

 

Richard is a true comic book collector...one who in the face of $$$ chose to say..no more widgets for those books, no more speculation...you can feel, touch, and open a comic book which was meant to be. these are true comic books not commodity widgets........

 

Again...my hat is off to you...

[MrBedrock]

Awsome photo Richard! Good for you. That is a big and expensive step. But if they are staying with you, this way you can actually enjoy them for what they are. Nothing like holding a raw Church book in your hands huh? The gloss, the smell and the feel is something you just don't get with a slab...

For so many years I had had Church books raw, and you are right...there is nothing like it. The same with some of the super nice Allentowns, Friscos and Chicagos. When I started slabbing everything in '06 and onward I would guess at the niceness of the slabbed pedigree books I picked up along the way. It has been cool getting to revisit some of the pedigrees I had slabbed but it has been super cool to open up some of the peds that I had never held raw. These two books were especially mind blowing...

 

My Human Torch 23 was another book that I was extra excited about breaking out. I had originally bought this book in 1976 from The American Comic Book Co. through an ad in the CBG for $40. It was listed as a nm and it was as advertised, in killer condition. A few years later I found out about the Cosmic Aeroplane collection and how to identify them. The Torch 23 is a no-doubter, check marks, notes and all. When I consigned all my post 1945 Timely to Heritage in 2005 following a divorce there were a handful that I kept, including two later Torches...23 and 27. A year or so later I got them slabbed, the 23 a 9.0 and the 27 a 9.2. I had the 23 for 30 years raw and it was a 9.0 (I'm sure it was probably nicer when I first got it but my 13 year old hands read it a few times). Ten years in a slab,now raw again...

[Bomber-Bob]

Richard, as a fellow collector, I gotta say this is one of the most uplifting threads I've read in a long time. It gets so depressing reading all the threads about movie speculation and financials. This thread is about pure love of the books. Thank you Sir for posting it !

[Robot Man]

Did your collection of Gaines copies get cracked out too?

I haven't cracked out any of those. I think my reasoning is along the lines of reading copies being so easy to come by.

 

Smart Reasoning!

[Mmehdy]

Richard, as a fellow collector, I gotta say this is one of the most uplifting threads I've read in a long time. It gets so depressing reading all the threads about movie speculation and financials. This thread is about pure love of the books. Thank you Sir for posting it !

 

+1

[The_SandMan]

When I consigned all my post 1945 Timely to Heritage in 2005 following a divorce

 

Ahhhh the benefits of marriage

[MrBedrock]

Richard, as a fellow collector, I gotta say this is one of the most uplifting threads I've read in a long time. It gets so depressing reading all the threads about movie speculation and financials. This thread is about pure love of the books. Thank you Sir for posting it !

Thanks Bob. It has certainly been my pleasure. Will I see you in Chicago or Baltimore...or both?

[MrBedrock]

When I consigned all my post 1945 Timely to Heritage in 2005 following a divorce

 

Ahhhh the benefits of marriage

Practice makes perfect.

[Bomber-Bob]

Richard, as a fellow collector, I gotta say this is one of the most uplifting threads I've read in a long time. It gets so depressing reading all the threads about movie speculation and financials. This thread is about pure love of the books. Thank you Sir for posting it !

Thanks Bob. It has certainly been my pleasure. Will I see you in Chicago or Baltimore...or both?

 

Definitely Chicago. I have yet to make Baltimore but it's on my bucket list, along with seeing the Cubs in a World Series game.

[Flex Mentallo]

 

That picture makes me want to lie down on that table and roll around in that pile of sweet GA.

 

Be quick! Or the cats will get there first!

[Cat-Man_America]

Richard, as a fellow collector, I gotta say this is one of the most uplifting threads I've read in a long time. It gets so depressing reading all the threads about movie speculation and financials. This thread is about pure love of the books. Thank you Sir for posting it !

 

I'm enjoying this too. Reminds me of my college daze. I still find myself preferring the hard core Barex encapsulated graded and uncut, but only old school. Crack is just too risky for me.

 

Yeah, I know, Richard is probably reacting to the designer stuff that the CGC cartel pushed. And it's good to take a stand against the distribution of bad product (remember Woodstock and the brown acid).

 

CGC may have briefly flooded the market with unsafe product, but I'm sure they quickly learned just how difficult it is hooking folks on the psychotropic wave and rainbow experience when there's no rave supporting it and no means to pascify the crowd.

 

As for avoiding crack? Well, there are safe, affordable alternatives out there for wide consumption, even PD photocopies on eBay. Yes, dear friends, there are ways you can enjoy the exterior and interior experience without the worry of getting hooked on crack.